


A Quiet Goodbye at 3am

by thinlizzy2



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Introspection, Pre-Canon, References to Andromeda/Ted, Sisters, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-05 17:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15175514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinlizzy2/pseuds/thinlizzy2
Summary: Andromeda Black left home forever at the age of sixteen.  There were some things she was able to take with her and others that she had to leave behind.Andromeda and Narcissa, on Andromeda's last night in the Black home.





	A Quiet Goodbye at 3am

**Author's Note:**

  * For [humanveil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanveil/gifts).



Andromeda Black bit her lip and inched forward, trying hard to remember all the squeaky boards and other hazards that could alert her parents to her escape. She wished that she could cast a silencing charm or use some other magic solution to ensure the success of her plan, but there was a very likely chance that her parents had cast a spell that would alert them if one of their daughters tried to do magic in the house. It was even possible that there were surveillance spells on just Andromeda herself; Cygnus and Druella Black had made it very clear that it was her and her alone who was the ‘bad’ one, the disappointment not to be trusted. Andromeda glanced at her trunk and shrugged. It was possible that they had a point, but she just couldn’t stay there any longer. 

 

She wished she could be like her cousin, Sirius. He had left in daylight, with a loud declaration that eveything his family believed in was wrong and that he wasn’t going to tolerate it for one minute longer. He had got to go with his head held high, knowing that everyone knew how he felt; there was no creeping out like a thief for him. But Gryffindor bravado wasn’t part of who Andromeda was. She was a Slytherin, after all. Not a particularly good Slytherin and possibly a disgrace to the House according to some of her more traditional classmates and professors, but a Slytherin nonetheless. Leaving secretly under the cover of night was more her style, and she supposed it always would be. 

 

She held her breath as she crept past Bellatrix’s room. She had no doubt at all that her older sister would turn her in if she caught her, not only to their parents but also to the strange and angry witches and wizards who had begun populating their lives. She had heard the discussion floating up from the parlour the previous evening; she knew all about their plans not only for muggles and muggleborns but also for those who associated with them. Bellatrix, a couple of years older and always the favourite, had been invited to sit with the guests, to drink their wine and participate in their scheming. Andromeda had been banished to her bedroom, where she’d pressed her ear against the floorboards and heard the big sister she’d once adored laughing merrily at all their talk. Even putting aside the repulsiveness of their ideas, there had been something wild and a little mad in Bellatrix’s laughter and it had made Andromeda all the more fearful for the people who didn’t even know they were under threat. 

 

 _Ted._ Andromeda took another step forward. She had to get to him; there was no way to keep him safe until she did. 

 

She made it past both Bellatrix’s and her parents’ rooms without incident, but she couldn’t help but stop outside Narcissa’s door. 

 

The stencilled unicorns frolicked and played over the heavy wood panelling, and she knew that her little sister would be fast asleep clutching the stuffed phoenix that their mother said she was getting too old for. Andromeda had given Flamey to Cissy when she was born; she had tucked her old toy into the baby’s cradle and had watched in fascination as her tiny fist had closed around its bright red feathers. Andromeda had only been six years old, and she’d loved Flamey with the singular passion that young girls reserved for their favourite toys, but in that moment she’d discovered that she loved her baby sister more. Just last week she had promised Narcissa that she would help her hide Flamey in her trunk when the little girl started Hogwarts that autumn, and it occurred to her that without her there to help Druella Black would probably just toss the toy in the bin. 

 

Unable to resist, she opened the door to Narcissa’s room just a crack. Yes, there was Narcissa, with Flamey tucked up against her chin. There was moonlight streaming through a gap in the curtains into the room; a single beam of it fell across the pillow, making Cissy’s hair seem to glow. Out of nowhere, Andromeda remembered her mother’s delight in the newborn Narcissa’s blondeness, her joy in having a daughter who looked like a Rosier after two dark-haired Black daughters. But Andromeda had never been jealous of Narcissa, not for a second. There had never been any sharp edges or hidden dangers between them like there was with her and Bellatrix these days. Right from the beginning, there had been nothing but love where Andromeda and Narcissa were concerned. 

 

Narcissa stirred in her bed and Andromeda could have cursed herself for this moment of self-defeating indulgance. She tried to quickly shut the door, but she heard her little sister call out and she knew that she was caught. Desperate to salvage the situation, she slipped into the room and quietly pushed the door closed behind her. “It’s just me, Cissy. Go back to sleep.” 

 

Narcissa opened her eyes. “Where are you going?” Her voice was slightly slurred, but aware. She had definitely noticed her sister's travelling cloak as well. There was no chance Andromenda would be able convince her that this was just a dream. 

 

Andromeda glanced nervously behind her. She’d left her trunk out in the corridor and there had been more than a little risk in that; if either her parents or her older sister came to investigate now she’d be doomed. She knelt down by Narcissa’s bed. “I’m not going anywhere.” 

 

The little girl furrowed her brow disbelievingly. “Why are you lying to me?" The suspicion in her voice was all to familiar in Andromeda's family and she was reminded once again just what she was abandoning her little sister to. 

 

“I’m just going to stay with a friend. For a little while.” And it was technically true. She and Ted _were_ friends; they had been friends for months before they fell in love. And she really would only be there for a few weeks; then they would both go back to Hogwarts for their final year. 

 

When she thought about it that way, it didn’t even really make sense for her to go. Wouldn’t it be safer to just stay here and lay low throughout the summer. Then she would be back at school and a couple of months later she’d be of age and all of this risk would be unnecessary. Logically, that all made sense. And yet Andromeda knew it was impossible. If she didn’t get out now, _tonight_ , she’d never really be able to leave. 

 

“Can I come with you?” Narcissa’s little hand closed around hers. “Please, Dromeda?” 

 

For an insane moment, she imagined taking her sister with her. She was such a sweet girl; she'd be no trouble. But it was impossible. It had been hard enough to convince Ted’s parents to let Andromeda come and stay with them; she couldn’t imagine how they would react if she showed up with an abducted little girl. And her parents might find a way to save face and make excuses to their friends about where Andromeda had gone, but they couldn’t and wouldn’t do the same for their ten year old. 

 

“Don’t be silly!” She tried hard for a jolly tone. “You don’t know my friend; you’d be so bored. And we’ll see each other at school soon anyway.” 

 

It was technically the truth, but she knew that everything would be different by the time Narcissa boarded the Hogwarts Express. Her sister would no doubt be forbidden to speak to her and would probably have had her head filled with nonsense about how Andromeda was dangerous and bad and not to be trusted. In fact, this was probably the last time they would really be able to talk like sisters, and the thought of that made her eyes sting with tears. 

 

Narcissa was only ten, but she clearly knew something was wrong. Her little face filled up with worry. “Are you going to be all right?” 

 

Andromeda honestly didn’t know. She only had the vaguest of ideas of what the world outside her own rarified circle was like. Most Slytherins were purebloods, after all. Everything Ted had to tell her about muggle life sounded interesting but entirely foreign. And they were both magical; their lives would be nothing like those of his parents. They’d be making their way in the magical world almost entirely alone, and it was a scary thought. 

 

But then she remembered Ted’s warm brown eyes. She thought of his steady smile and his strong safe hand holding hers. And she compared that to the sickly crackling laughter of her parents and their friends, and she knew she had to try. 

 

“I’ll be fine.” She leaned down and kissed her sister’s forehead. “Please don’t worry about me. Just look after yourself.” 

 

Andromenda stood to leave, but Narcissa held onto her cloak and pulled her back down. Andromeda groped in her pocket for her wand; she'd have to take the risk of doing magic if a silencing spell was the only way to keep Narcissa quiet until she was gone. But the little girl didn’t call out for their parents. Instead, she thrust something warm and fuzzy into her sister’s face. “Take Flamey. To keep you company.” 

 

And with that single gesture, Andromeda knew that Cissy understood what was happening. She didn’t know all the specifics but she knew that her world was changing and that things would never be the same. Her generosity, in the face of that, made Andromeda want to weep. “He’s yours, sweetie. I can’t take him.” 

 

“You need him more than me.” Narcissa tucked her hands under the blankets, simultaneously making it impossible for her sister to give her toy back and releasing Andromeda to go. Andromeda hugged Flamey tightly. The top of its feathery head smelled just like her little sister, and she realized that Narissa might be right about what she needed. 

 

“I’ll take care of him for you”, Andromeda promised. And there were so many other promises she would have loved to make. She wished that she could promise to keep Narcissa herself safe, that she would never allow the darkness of the world they were born into to touch her, that Narcissa didn’t need to end up like their mother and father had and their sister probably would. But taking care of a stuffed toy was all she was in any position to actually do, and she didn’t want her last words to her little sister to be a lie. 

 

So she tucked Flamey into the folds of her cloak, kissed Narcissa gently on the forehead and nodded. Then she stepped back into the corridor and sighed with relief to find that the house was still quiet and her trunk was undisturbed. She closed the door firmly behind her, leaving Narcissa enveloped in darkness, and moved towards the exit.


End file.
